Game of Thrones, Geekdom and Marginalization as (Political) Power

Great discussion of the politics of victim hood and the power of ressentiment in contemporary society--touches on geekdom, gay marriage, polygamy, and atheism. The discussion is between a Christian and an atheist and both have good things to say. Enjoy.

The Score (April 15, 2014)

Freedom as Responsibility: David's Thesis Part 1

Release fail.  I apologize.  I've been sick and largely incapable of useful thought for the past few days, so the release is late.  Sorry.

This week is the first part of a discussion Dale and I had about my MA thesis.  If you're interested in reading it, let me know, but I will warn you that it is a dense 100 pages of critical theory.  This is the much simpler version.

In my thesis, I explored three wilderness nonfiction books: Jon Krakauer's Into the Wild, Peter Gzsowski's The Sacrament, and John and Jean Silverwood's Black Wave.  My question was "what is at stake in these stories that they each operate, at least partially, in an apologetic (explanatory) mode?"  My summary statement was that I was exploring "freedom as responsibility grounded in a recognition of mutual vulnerability and enacted as a contest for meaning."  The project allowed me to work through and articulate a number of ideas I've been wrestling with for the majority of my adult life, as such, it is probably my clearest articulation of the importance of story, the role it plays in our lives, and the importance and meaning of our engagement with it.  This ties back into much that we've discussed so far.

This first part ends with a question about why there must be a contest for meaning.  Part 2 answers next week.  Enjoy.

Freedom as Responsibility: David's Thesis Part 1

If anyone is interested in undertaking the reading of my most significant work thus far, it is available through the UVic Library website, here.

Part of the podcast is here.

Responding to Violence: Security, Responsibility and the Nation-State in Light of the Boston Bombings, Part 1

Well, we had planned to release The Truth About Stories Part II this week, in which Dale explores a story about story that is particular meaningful to him.  That will be up in a few weeks.  However, it seemed more relevant to post a discussion we had about the recent Boston bombing.

First, I must express our sympathy for the people and communities impacted by this tragedy.  Life is not meant to contain such horrific pain and loss.  However, the stories we tell about loss and in response to loss are especially powerful and thus especially worthy of attention and consideration.  Too often, in our pain, we speak stories which only immortalize and extend the pain we have suffered rather than grapple with it and resolve it in any meaningful way.  As such, I must clarify that my sympathy also extends to the two young men involved, as well as their communities and to those involved in other less widely spoken stories, including the explosion in Texas and the Rehtaeh Parsons story.  We live in a broken and often brutally painful world and our response to that pain matters immensely.

This podcast focuses on the question of how we respond to vulnerability and loss, especially in terms of the stories set in motion by the nation-state and its representative authorities and authoritative speakers.  These are not easy questions and our exploration may prove unsettling to some, but I ask you to bear with us.  Given the complexity of these issues, we recorded a second podcast which, as per the poll results, we will release next week.  In the meantime, here you are:

Security, Responsibility and the Nation-State in Light of the Boston Bombings, Part 1

Or alternatively:

the same podcast on Spreaker